Ashley Young has warned Manchester United not to appoint Antonio Conte to replace Michael Carrick. The former captain of the English giant knows the Italian well from their work together at Inter and believes his requirements will not fit the current Red Devils squad.
Conte is out of work after leaving Napoli by mutual consent in May. In his career, he won five Serie A titles as a player at Juventus, and then added five more as coach of the Torino, Inter and Napoli. In the 2016/17 season, he led Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first year at the helm of the team. Despite his success, however, the Italian is known for his short stays at clubs, and his temperament often leads to tension with the management.
Carrick's position is also under test. Manchester United lost heavily to Como on Wednesday, and their winless streak has now reached seven games. After the final whistle, Carrick went to the away fans to apologize for the team's performance. He did not hide his disappointment with the players' efforts: "If you don't run forward and don't go back, you can't win." This comes after a strong finish to last season, when under Carrick's caretaker management United won more points in the last 17 rounds than champions Arsenal.
"He's crazy," Young said of Conte on the show "The Overlap Daily". The former midfielder described the Italian's training as extremely intense, with lots of running and frequent 11-on-11 games. Team meetings were also long, especially after a defeat, when players could stay in the dressing room with the coach for three or four hours. According to Young, this exhausts not only the players but also the club's managers, who eventually tire of the constant pressure.
Conte demands his players to cover huge distances and often uses the phrase "eat the grass" to describe the dedication he expects from them. This is where Young sees the biggest problem with his possible appointment at Manchester United. "There's a lot of talk about United's running record. If the players aren't ready to run and Antonio Conte takes over, it will be a disaster," concluded the former captain.